Floral sleeve having an extendable skirt and methods

ABSTRACT

A plant packaging and covering system comprising a floral sleeve having a base portion and skirt portion. The sleeve may have an upper protective sleeve portion which can surround a plant disposed in a pot and which can be detached once the protective function of the sleeve has been completed thereby allowing the skirt portion to extend angularly from the base portion. The sleeve has a plurality of folds, some constricted by constriction elements, the folds comprising expansion elements for allowing portions of the base portion to expand, and portions of the skirt portion to extend angularly, when a pot is disposed within the sleeve.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of No. 09/625,619, filed Jul.24, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,339,900, which is a continuation of U.S.Ser. No. 09/124,826, filed Jul. 29, 1998, now abandoned, which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 09/064,460, filed Apr. 22, 1998,now U.S. Pat. No. 6,151,830, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S.Ser. No. 08/788,616 filed Jan. 27, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,749,171,which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 08/237,078, filed May3, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,979, which is a continuation-in-part ofU.S. Ser. No. 08/220,852, filed Mar. 31, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No.5,572,851. Each of these applications is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention generally relates to sleeves, and, more particularly,sleeves used to wrap flower pots containing floral groupings and/ormediums containing floral groupings, and methods of using same.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sleeve having a gusset and an upperdetachable portion constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of another sleeve having an upperdetachable portion constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of a sleeve having a gusset and without anupper detachable portion and constructed in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is an elevational view of another sleeve constructed inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of another sleeve constructed inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an elevational view of another sleeve constructed inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of a sleeve having a connecting bondingmaterial on the interior thereof.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an opened version of the sleeve of FIG.1 having a potted plant disposed therein.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a potted plant covered by a sleeve suchas the sleeve of any one of the sleeves of FIGS. 1-8.

FIG. 10 is an elevational view of a potted plant about to be disposedwithin a sleeve of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an elevational view of the potted plant of FIG. 10 partiallydisposed within the sleeve of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is an elevational view of the potted plant of FIG. 10 fullydisposed within the sleeve of FIG. 10, wherein the arrows indicateoutward expansion of portions of the sleeve.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a sleeve of the present inventionshowing the sleeve in an opened condition and wherein the sleevecomprises pleated folds.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a sleeve similar to the sleeve of FIG.13 except without an upper sleeve portion and with the skirt extended.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a sleeve similar to the sleeve of FIG.13 except the expansion elements do not extend completely to the upperend and lower ends of the sleeve and extend at various lengthslongitudinally.

FIG. 16 is a plan view of a cross section taken along the line 16—16 ofthe sleeve of FIG. 15.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of another version of a sleeve constructedin accordance with the present invention wherein the sleeve comprisesz-shaped folds.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a sleeve similar to the sleeve of FIG.17 except without an upper sleeve portion and with the skirt extended.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a sleeve similar to the sleeve of FIG.17 except the z-shaped folds do not extend completely to the upper endand lower end of the sleeve.

FIG. 20 is a plan view of a cross section taken along the line 20—20 ofthe sleeve of FIG. 19.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of an alternate version of a sleeveconstructed in accordance with the present invention wherein the sleevecomprises fluted or groove-shaped folds.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of a sleeve similar to the sleeve of FIG.21 except without an upper sleeve portion and with the skirt extended.

FIG. 23 is a perspective view of a sleeve similar to the sleeve of FIG.21 except the fluted or groove-shaped folds do not extend completely tothe upper end or lower end of the sleeve.

FIG. 24 is a plan view of a cross section taken along the line of 24—24of the sleeve of FIG. 23.

FIG. 25A is an elevational view of a sleeve constructed in accordancewith the present invention and having a skirt with an upper edge havinga crenate or scalloped pattern.

FIG. 25B is an elevational view of a sleeve constructed in accordancewith the present invention and having a skirt with an upper edge havingan inverted crenate or scalloped pattern.

FIG. 25C is an elevational view of a sleeve constructed in accordancewith the present invention having a skirt with an upper edge having acrenulate, toothed, or zig-zag pattern.

FIG. 25D is an elevational view of a sleeve constructed in accordancewith the present invention having a skirt with an upper edge having acrenelated or rectangular-shaped pattern.

FIG. 25E is an elevational view of a sleeve constructed in accordancewith the present invention having a skirt with an upper edge having adiagonal pattern.

FIG. 25F is an elevational view of a sleeve constructed in accordancewith the present invention having a skirt with an upper edge having acurved or wavy pattern.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention contemplates a preformed sleeve for covering a pothaving an upper end, a lower end, and an outer peripheral surface. Thepreformed sleeve comprises a base portion having an upper end, a lowerend, and an interior space. A skirt portion extends from the upper endof the base portion. The sleeve comprises an extension (or expansion)elements which comprise a plurality of folds in the base portion and inthe skirt portion. The sleeve further comprises a constricted area whichis made up of portions of folds in the base portion adjacent the lowerend of the skirt portion which is constricted by a constriction elementattached to the base portion. The constricted area may extend entirelycircumferentially about the upper end of the base portion, or may extendonly partially circumferentially about the upper end of the baseportion. The constriction element functions to constrict the expansionof an upper portion of the base portion such that when a pot is disposedwithin the sleeve, pressure is exerted by the pot onto the constrictedarea causing the skirt portion to extend at an angle to the baseportion. The preformed sleeve may further comprise a detachable uppersleeve portion generally sized to enclose a floral grouping which whendetached allows the skirt portion to extend angularly from the baseportion when a pot is disposed within the base portion of the sleeve.The upper portion when present may be detachable via perforations, tearstrips, weakened areas, or zippers. The upper sleeve portion may have anextended upper portion for serving as a handle or support device. Thefolds or expansion elements may extend the entire length from the lowerend of the base portion to the upper end of the sleeve or may extendonly an intermediate distance therebetween.

The expansion elements may be a plurality of vertical pleats, aplurality of vertical folds each having a Z-shaped cross section, aplurality of vertical accordion-type folds, or other similar types ofexpandable forms.

The preformed sleeve may form part of a plant package when used inconjunction with a pot disposed within the interior space of the baseportion of the preformed sleeve, the pot having a floral groupingdisposed therein, and wherein the pot is substantially surrounded andencompassed by the base portion and the floral grouping is substantiallysurrounded and encompassed and enclosed by the upper sleeve portion whenit forms a part of the preformed sleeve.

Also, the base portion may comprise a bonding material disposed on aninner peripheral surface thereof for bondingly connecting to a potdisposed therein. Further, the upper sleeve portion when present extendfrom the upper end of the skirt portion, or may be connected to the baseportion. When the upper sleeve portion is connected to the base portion,it may be connected to an inner peripheral surface of the base portion,leaving the skirt portion exposed, or it may be attached to an outerperipheral surface of the base portion, and may thereby enclose theskirt portion until it is detached from the base portion.

The base portion and the skirt portion of the preformed tubular sleevemay be constructed from a first material and the upper sleeve portionconstructed from a second material different from the first material.The base portion and the upper sleeve portion of the preformed sleevemay be constructed from a first material and the skirt portionconstructed from a second material different from the first material.The preformed sleeve may comprise a portion of a plant package whichadditionally comprises a pot disposed within the sleeve, the pot havinga floral grouping disposed therein, and wherein the pot is substantiallysurrounded and encompassed by the base portion.

These embodiments and others of the present invention are now describedin more detail below. It will be appreciated that the examples providedherein are not intended to limit the scope and extent of the claimedinvention but are only intended to exemplify various embodiments of theinvention contemplated herein.

The Embodiments and Methods of Use of FIGS. 1-25F

Shown in FIG. 1 and designated therein by the general reference numeral10 is a flexible preformed sleeve of unitary construction. The sleeve 10preferably initially comprises a flexible flat collapsed piece ofmaterial which is openable in the form of a tube or sleeve. In analternative embodiment, the sleeve 10 may be formed in an openedfrusto-conical configuration. The sleeve 10 is preferably taperedoutwardly from the lower end toward a larger diameter at its upper end.In its flattened state the sleeve 10 has an overall trapezoidal ormodified trapezoidal shape, and when opened is substantiallyfrusto-conical to coniform. It will be appreciated, however, that thesleeve 10 may comprise variations on the aforementioned shapes or maycomprise significantly altered shapes such as square or rectangular,wherein the sleeve 10 when opened has a cylindrical form, as long as thesleeve 10 functions in accordance with the present invention in themanner described herein.

The sleeve 10 has an upper end 12, a lower end 14, an outer peripheralsurface 16 and in its flattened state has a first side 18 and a secondside 20. The sleeve 10 has an opening 22 at the upper end 12 and may beopen at the lower end 14 (not shown), or closed with a bottom at thelower end 14. The sleeve 10 also has an inner peripheral surface 24which, when the sleeve 10 is opened, defines and encompasses an innerretaining space 23. When the lower end 14 of the sleeve 10 is closed, aportion of the lower end 14 may be inwardly or outwardly folded to formone or more gussets 26 constructed in a manner well known to one ofordinary skill in the art as shown in FIG. 1 for permitting a circularbottom of an object such as a potted plant (not shown) to be disposedinto the inner retaining space 23 of the lower end 14 of the sleeve 10.Further the lower end 14 may be constructed in the manner shown in U.S.Pat. No. 6,182,395, the specification of which is hereby incorporatedherein in its entirety. FIG. 2 shows a sleeve 10 a formed without agusset in the lower end 14 a.

The sleeve 10 is generally frusto-conically shaped, but the sleeve 10may be, by way of example but not by way of limitation, cylindrical,frusto-conical, a combination of both frusto-conical and cylindrical, orany other shape, as long as the sleeve 10 functions as described hereinas noted above. Further, the sleeve 10 may comprise any shape, whethergeometric, nongeometric, asymmetrical and/or fanciful as long as itfunctions in accordance with the present invention. The sleeve 10 mayalso be equipped with drainage holes (e.g., one or more holes) in thebase portion or bottom thereof or ventilation holes (not shown) in thebase or upper sleeve portion, or can be made from permeable orimpermeable materials.

The material from which the sleeve 10 is constructed preferably has athickness in a range from about 0.1 mil to about 30 mils. Often, thethickness of the sleeve 10 is in a range from about 0.5 mil to about 10mils. Preferably, the sleeve 10 has a thickness in a range from about1.0 mil to about 5 mils. More preferably, the sleeve 10 is constructedfrom a material which is flexible, semi-rigid, rigid, or any combinationthereof. The sleeve 10 may be constructed of a single layer of materialor a plurality of layers of the same or different types of materials.Any thickness of the material may be utilized as long as the materialfunctions in accordance with the present invention as described herein.The layers of material comprising the sleeve 10 may be connectedtogether or laminated or may be separate layers. Such materials used toconstruct the sleeve 10 are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,637entitled “Method For Wrapping A Floral Grouping” issued to Weder et al.,on May 12, 1992, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. Anythickness of material may be utilized in accordance with the presentinvention as long as the sleeve 10 may be formed as described herein,and as long as the formed sleeve 10 may contain at least a portion of apot or potted plant or a floral grouping, as described herein.Additionally, an insulating material such as bubble film, preferable asone of two or more layers, can be utilized in order to provideadditional protection for the item, such as the floral grouping,contained therein.

In one embodiment, the sleeve 10 may be constructed from a sheetcomprising two polypropylene films. The material comprising the sleeve10 may be connected together or laminated or may be separate layers. Inan alternative embodiment, the sleeve 10 may be constructed from onlyone of the polypropylene films.

The sleeve 10 is constructed from any suitable material that is capableof being formed into a sleeve and wrapped about a pot and a floralgrouping disposed therein. Preferably, the material comprises treated oruntreated paper, metal foil, polymer film, non-polymer film, woven orunwoven fabric, synthetic or natural fabric, cardboard, fiber, cloth,burlap, or laminations or combinations thereof.

The term “polymer film” means a man-made polymer such as a polypropyleneor a naturally occurring polymer such as cellophane. A polymer film isrelatively strong and not as subject to tearing (substantiallynon-tearable), as might be the case with paper or foil.

The material comprising the sleeve 10 may vary in color and may consistof designs or decorative patterns which are printed, etched, and/orembossed thereon using inks or other printing materials. An example ofan ink which may be applied to the surface of the material is describedin U.S. Pat. No. 5,147,706 entitled “Water Based Ink On Foil And/OrSynthetic Organic Polymer” issued to Kingman on Sep. 15, 1992 and whichis hereby incorporated herein by reference.

In addition, the material may have various colorings, coatings, flockingand/or metallic finishes, or other decorative surface ornamentationapplied separately or simultaneously or may be characterized totally orpartially by pearlescent, translucent, transparent, iridescent, neon, orthe like, qualities. The material may further comprise, or have appliedthereto, one or more scents. Each of the above-named characteristics mayoccur alone or in combination and may be applied to the upper and/orlower surface of the material comprising the sleeve 10. Moreover,portions of the material used in constructing the sleeve 10 may vary inthe combination of such characteristics. The material utilized for thesleeve 10 itself may be opaque, translucent, transparent, or partiallyclear or tinted transparent.

The term “floral grouping” as used herein means cut fresh flowers,artificial flowers, a single flower or other fresh and/or artificialplants or other floral materials and may include other secondary plantsand/or ornamentation or artificial or natural materials which add to theaesthetics of the overall floral grouping. The floral grouping comprisesa bloom or foliage portion and a stem portion. Further, the floralgrouping may comprise a growing potted plant having a root portion (notshown) as well. However, it will be appreciated that the floral groupingmay consist of only a single bloom or only foliage, or a botanical item(not shown), or a propagule (not shown). The term “floral grouping” maybe used interchangeably herein with both the terms “floral arrangement”and “potted plant”. The term “floral grouping” may also be usedinterchangeably herein with the terms “botanical item” and/or“propagule.”

The term “growing medium” when used herein means any liquid, solid orgaseous material used for plant growth or for the cultivation ofpropagules, including organic and inorganic materials such as soil,humus, perlite, vermiculite, sand, water, and including the nutrients,fertilizers or hormones or combinations thereof required by the plantsor propagules for growth.

The term “botanical item” when used herein means a natural or artificialherbaceous or woody plant, taken singly or in combination. The term“botanical item” also means any portion or portions of natural orartificial herbaceous or woody plants including stems, leaves, flowers,blossoms, buds, blooms, cones, or roots, taken singly or in combination,or in groupings of such portions such as bouquet or floral grouping.

The term “propagule” when used herein means any structure capable ofbeing propagated or acting as an agent of reproduction including seeds,shoots, stems, runners, tubers, plants, leaves, roots or spores.

In accordance with the present invention, a bonding material (not shown)may be disposed on a portion of the sleeve 10 to assist in holding thesleeve 10 to the pot having the floral grouping therein when such a potis disposed within the sleeve or to assist in closing or sealing theupper portion of the sleeve 10 or in adhering the sleeve 10 to the potafter the pot has been disposed therein, as will be discussed in furtherdetail below.

It will be understood that the bonding material may be disposed as astrip or block on a surface of the sleeve 10. The bonding material mayalso be disposed upon either the outer peripheral surface 16 or theinner peripheral surface 24 of the sleeve 10, as well as upon the pot.Further, the bonding material may be disposed as spots of bondingmaterial, or in any other geometric, non-geometric, asymmetric, orfanciful form, and in any pattern including covering either the entireinner peripheral surface and/or outer peripheral surface of the sleeve10 and/or the pot or pot cover. The bonding material may be covered by acover or release strip which can be removed prior to the use of thesleeve, pot or pot cover. The bonding material can be applied by meansknown to those of ordinary skill in their art. One method for disposinga bonding material, in this case an adhesive, is described in U.S. Pat.No. 5,111,637 entitled “Method For Wrapping A Floral Grouping” issued toWeder et al., on May 12, 1992, which has been incorporated by referenceabove.

The term “bonding material” when used herein means an adhesive,frequently a pressure sensitive adhesive, or a cohesive. When thebonding material is a cohesive, a similar cohesive material must beplaced on the adjacent surface for bondingly contacting and bondinglyengaging with the cohesive material. The term “bonding material” alsoincludes materials which are heat sealable and, in this instance, theadjacent portions of the material must be brought into contact and thenheat must be applied to effect the seal. The term “bonding material”also includes materials which are sonic sealable and vibratory sealable.The term “bonding material” when used herein also means a heat sealinglacquer or hot melt material which may be applied to the material and,in this instance, heat, sound waves, or vibrations, also must be appliedto effect the sealing.

Alternatively, a cold seal adhesive may be utilized as the bondingmaterial. The cold seal adhesive adheres only to a similar substrate,acting similarly as a cohesive, and binds only to itself. The cold sealadhesive, since it bonds only to a similar substrate, does not cause aresidue to build up on equipment, thereby both permitting much morerapid disposition and use of such equipment to form articles andreducing labor costs. Further, since no heat is required to effect theseal, the dwell time, that is, the time for the sheet of material toform and retain the shape of an article, such as a flower pot cover orflower pot, is reduced. A cold seal adhesive binds quickly and easilywith minimal pressure, and such a seal is not readily releasable. Thischaracteristic is different from, for example, a pressure sensitiveadhesive.

As shown in FIG. 1, the sleeve 10 in one embodiment is demarcated intoan upper portion 30 and a lower portion 32. The lower portion 32 of thesleeve 10 is generally sized to contain a potted plant (not shown). Theupper portion 30 of the sleeve 10 is sized to substantially surround andencompass a floral grouping contained within the potted plant disposedwithin the lower portion 32 of the sleeve 10. The sleeve 10 isdemarcated into the upper portion 30 and the lower portion 32 by adetaching element 34 for enabling the detachment of the upper portion 30of the sleeve 10 from the lower portion 32 of the sleeve 10. In thepresent version, the detaching element 34 is a plurality of generallycurved, scalloped, laterally-oriented or alternatinglydiagonally-oriented perforations which extend circumferentially acrossthe outer peripheral surface 16 of the sleeve 10 from the first side 18to the second side 20. The term “detaching element,” as used generallyherein, means any element, or combination of elements, or features, suchas, but not by way of limitation, perforations, tear strips, zippers,and any other devices or elements of this nature known in the art, orany combination thereof, which enable the tearing away or detachment ofone object from another. Therefore, while perforations are shown anddescribed in detail herein, it will be understood that tear strips,zippers, or any other “detaching elements” known in the art, or anycombination thereof, could be substituted therefore and/or usedtherewith.

In a preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the lower portion 32 ofthe sleeve 10 further comprises a base portion 36, and a skirt portion38. The base portion 36 comprises that part of the lower portion 32which, when a pot is placed into the lower portion 32, has an innerperipheral surface 24 which is substantially adjacent to and surroundsthe outer peripheral surface of the pot (not shown). The skirt portion38 comprises that portion of the lower portion 32 which extends beyondan upper rim of the pot and adjacent at least a portion, generally alower portion, of the floral grouping contained within the pot and whichis left to freely extend at an angle, inwardly or outwardly, from thebase portion 36 when the upper portion 30 of the sleeve 10 is detachedfrom the lower portion 32 of the sleeve 10 by actuation of the detachingelement 34. In the intact sleeve 10, the skirt portion 38 comprises anupper peripheral edge congruent with the detaching element 34 which isconnected to a lower peripheral edge, also congruent with the detachingelement 34, of the upper portion 30 of the sleeve 10. In FIG. 1, theupper peripheral edge of the skirt portion 38 is congruent with a seriesof alternatingly diagonally-oriented lines of perforations whichtogether form a zig-zag and comprise the detaching element 34.

The upper portion 30 of the sleeve 10 may also have an additionalvertical detaching element comprising a plurality of verticalperforations (not shown) for facilitating removal of the upper portion30 and which are disposed more or less vertically therein extendingbetween the detaching element 34 of the sleeve 10 and the upper end 12.The upper portion 30 of the sleeve 10 is separable from the lowerportion 32 of the sleeve 10 by tearing the upper portion 30 along boththe vertical perforations (when present) and the detaching element 34,thereby separating the upper portion 30 from the lower portion 32 of thesleeve 10. The lower portion 32 of the sleeve 10 remains disposed as thebase portion 36 about the pot and as the skirt portion 38 about thefloral grouping forming a decorative cover 48 which substantiallysurrounds and encompasses the potted plant.

It will be understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art thatequipment and devices for forming floral sleeves are commerciallyavailable, and are well known to a person of ordinary skill in the art.Therefore, further discussion of the construction of the coversdescribed herein is not deemed necessary.

As noted above, the sleeve 10 may have an open or closed lower end 14.When the lower end 14 is closed the lower end 14 may have one or moregussets 26 formed therein such as that seen in sleeve 10 in FIG. 1 forallowing expansion of the lower end 14 when an object with a broad lowerend such as a pot is disposed therein. In another version of the presentinvention a strip of bonding material (not shown) may be disposedadjacent the upper end 12 of the sleeve for allowing the upper end 12 tobe sealed for enclosing the upper portion 30 of the sleeve 10 about afloral grouping disposed therein. In another version of the presentinvention, a sleeve may comprise a flap (not shown) positioned at theupper end 12 which can be folded over and sealed with a flap bondingstrip to an adjacent portion of the outer peripheral surface 16 of thesleeve 10 near the upper end 12 thereof. Other versions of the sleeve 10(not shown) may comprise ventilation holes or drainage holes in thelower portion 32 for allowing movement of gases or moisture to and awayfrom the inner retaining space 23 (not shown) of the sleeve.

In another version of the present invention (not shown), the sleeve 10may comprise an inner strip or area of bonding material (not shown)disposed upon a portion of the inner peripheral surface 24 of the lowerportion 32 which functions to enable the inner peripheral surface 24, ora portion thereof, to be bondingly connected to the outer peripheralsurface of the pot disposed therein causing the sleeve 10 to bebondingly connected to the pot.

In another embodiment (not shown), the sleeve 10, may further comprisean extended portion having apertures therein, which portion extends awayfrom a portion of the upper end 12 of the sleeve 10 for allowing thesleeve 10 to be supported on a support assembly commercially availableand known by one of ordinary skill in the art such as a pair of wicketsfor shipment, storage, assembly of the sleeve 10, placement of the potwithin the sleeve 10, or other functions known in the art. The extensionmay have a plurality of perforations or other detaching elements forallowing the extension to be removed from the upper end 12 after thesleeve 10 has been provided for use as described elsewhere herein.Alternatively, the sleeve 10 may be supported by apertures in the upperportion 30. In another version of the invention (not shown), the sleeve10 has an extended portion comprising a handle for carrying the pottedplant package by the sleeve 10. The sleeve 10 may further comprise adetaching element comprising perforations for removing the handle at alater time.

Other versions of the present invention (not shown), may compriseadditional perforated areas for enhancing angularity of the extension ofthe skirt portion 38 away from the base portion 36 after the upperportion 30 of the sleeve 10 has been detached. Examples of such sleevesdescribed above herein comprising these additional features are shown inFIGS. 6-8 and 14-20 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,979 and the correspondingdescriptions therein, which are specifically hereby incorporated hereinby reference.

The sleeve 10 herein is further contemplated as having extension (orexpansion) elements comprising at least one vertically oriented fold 40which may extend from the upper end 12 to the lower end 14 of the sleeve10.

The one or more folds 40 extend at least from a portion of the baseportion 36 to a portion of the skirt portion 38 and may extend into theupper portion 30 as shown in FIG. 1. The extension elements, comprisingthe one or more folds 40, functions to allow expansion of a portion ofthe base portion 36 and of the skirt portion 38 of the sleeve 10 when apot is inserted into the inner retaining space 23 of the sleeve 10.

As shown in FIG. 1, each fold 40 of the sleeve 10 comprises one or moreareas of excess material shaped in the form of a pleat which extendsfrom the base portion 36 to the upper end 12 of the sleeve 10. As usedherein, the term “excess material” means an amount of material which hasa greater surface area than would actually be necessary to form thatportion of the plant covering where that portion of the plant coveringactually flattened. The fold 40 can expand causing portions of the uppersleeve portion 30 and/or the skirt portion 38 to extend angularly fromthe base portion 36.

As contemplated herein, the invention further comprises a constrictedarea 44 which comprises overlapped portions of the folds 40 of thesleeve 10. The folds 40 comprising the constricted area 44 areconstricted by a constriction element 46 which is attached to a portionof the inner peripheral surface 24, and/or outer peripheral surface 16of the base portion 36 of the sleeve 10. The constricted area 44 ispreferably located at the upper end 37 of the base portion 36 below theskirt portion 38 and may extend completely or partially about thecircumference of the sleeve 10. The constriction element 46 functions toconstrict the expansion of the folds 40 of the upper end 37 of the baseportion 36 which comprise the constricted area 44 when a pot is disposedwithin the sleeve 10, thereby causing the skirt portion 38 to extend atan angle, for example, outwardly, from the base portion 36 of the sleeve10 as will be described in more detail below. The constriction element46 in a preferred version comprises a band, ribbon, string, strip, ortape which is pre-attached to a portion of the base via an adhesive,cohesive, staple, cold or heat sealing, or sonic or vibratory sealing.The constriction 46 may be non-elastic or may comprise a degree ofelasticity for enabling partial expansion of the folds 40 of theconstricted area 44. It will be understood that such expansion will beless than that possible in the folds in the remaining, non-constrictedportions of the base portion 36 and skirt portion 38. The constrictionelement 46, being connected to the base portion 36, is substantiallyimmobile thereon and is not intended to be “drawn” about a portion of apot like a drawstring.

The folds 40 in the sleeve 10 contemplated herein may be constructed insuch a manner that each fold 40 extends completely from the lower end 14of the sleeve 10 to the upper end 12 of the sleeve 10 as shown in FIG.1. Alternatively as shown in FIG. 2, a sleeve 10 a may comprise folds 40a which are parallel such that some of the folds 40 a extend the entiredistance from the upper end 12 a to the lower end 14 a, while otherfolds 40 a, particularly those near sides 18 a and 20 a, extend from theupper end 12 a only part of the distance toward the lower end 14 a ofthe sleeve 10 a and may intersect sides 18 a or 20 a. The folds 40 a insleeve 10 a are substantially parallel when the sleeve 10 a is in theflattened condition. Henceforth the term “tapering folds” will be usedin reference to the pattern of folds in the embodiment of sleeve 10 ofFIG. 1 while the term “parallel folds” will be used in reference to thepattern of folds in the embodiment of sleeve 10 a of FIG. 2.

Attention is now drawn to the embodiment of the present inventiondesignated by reference numeral 10 b in FIG. 3. Sleeve 10 b isconstructed without a detachable upper sleeve portion of the sleeve 10b. Sleeve 10 b has tapered folds 40 b and has a skirt portion 38 b whichin the flattened condition extends at an angle from the base portion 36b and has a constricted area 44 b which is similar to the constrictedarea 44 described above. Sleeve 10 b is shown as having a constrictionelement 46 b similar to the constriction element 46 which is externallydisposed, however the constriction element 46 b may also be disposedinternally upon the inner peripheral surface 24 b (not shown) of thebase portion 36 b in the same manner as described for constrictionelement 46 in sleeve 10. The sleeve of FIG. 4 designated by thereference numeral 10 c is similar to the sleeve 10 b except it has folds40 c which are parallel, and has a lower end 14 c which has a straightseal. It will of course be understood by a person of ordinary skill inthe art that sleeve 10 c may be formed with a gussetted bottom, andsleeve 10 b, may be formed without a gussetted bottom. Referring now toFIGS. 5 and 6, sleeves 10 d and 10 e are similar to sleeves 10 b and 10c, respectively except the angle of the outer edge of the skirt portion38 d and 38 e forms a straight line with the outer edge of the baseportion 36 d and 36 e, respectively. The skirt portion of any of thesleeves defined herein may extend at other angles not described hereinsuch as at an inwardly facing angle.

Shown in FIG. 7 is a sleeve 10 f which exemplifies the embodimentwherein a constricted area 44 f is constricted internally by aconstriction element 46 f attached to the inner peripheral surface 24 f(not shown) of the sleeve 10 f.

Referring now to FIG. 8, the sleeve 10 of FIG. 1 is shown as having apot 50 disposed therein, in phantom view. The pot 50 has an upper end52, a lower end 54, and an outer peripheral surface 56, and has a plantor floral grouping 58 disposed therein. The upper portion 30 of thesleeve 10 surrounds and generally encompasses the floral grouping 58.When the upper portion 30 is detached along the detaching element 34,the skirt portion 38 extends away from the upper end 37 of the baseportion 36, for example in a manner as shown in FIG. 9, which shows adecorative cover 48 which is left surrounding the pot 50 after the uppersleeve portion 30 of the sleeve 10 has been detached. It will beunderstood by a person of ordinary skill in the art that the embodimentsof FIGS. 8 and 9 exemplify the combination of any of the sleevesdescribed in FIGS. 1-7 as will be obvious in light of the disclosureprovided herewith.

It will generally be desired to use the sleeve 10 as the decorativecover 48 for a potted plant (FIGS. 8-9). As shown in FIG. 8, the lowerend 54 of the pot 50 is closed but may have holes (not shown) forpermitting water drainage. The term “pot” as used herein refers to anytype of container used for holding a floral grouping or plant. Examplesof pots, used in accordance with the present invention include, but notby way of limitation, clay pots, wooden pots, plastic pots, pots madefrom natural and synthetic fibers, or any combination thereof. The potis adapted to receive a floral grouping. The floral grouping may bedisposed within the pot along with a suitable growing medium describedin further detail below, or other retaining medium, such as a floralfoam. It will also be understood that the floral grouping, and anyappropriate growing. medium or other retaining medium, may be disposedin the sleeve without a pot.

Referring now to FIGS. 10-12, a preferred method of how the presentinvention is employed is shown. Shown in FIG. 10 is a sleeve such assleeve 10 d of FIG. 5. A pot 50 is disposed into an inner retainingspace 23 d of sleeve 10 d in a direction 60. As the pot 50 is disposedwithin the sleeve 10 d, the pot 50 begins to deform the base portion 36d and begins to cause the folds 40 d to expand as shown in FIG. 11. Asthe pot 50 is further disposed with the sleeve 10 d, the pot 50 causesthe base portion 36 d to further expand in an outward direction 62 asshown in FIG. 12. As the pot 50 exerts pressure on the inner peripheralsurface 24 d of the sleeve 10 d and upon the constricted area 44 d, theskirt portion 38 d is caused to expand a distance outwardly angularlyfrom the upper end 37 d of the base portion 36 d. In an alternativeembodiment the skirt portion 38 d may be caused to extend at an inwarddirection (not shown) toward the floral grouping 58.

Referring now to FIG. 13, attention is drawn to the sleeve designated bythe general reference numeral 10 g which is similar to sleeve 10 exceptsleeve 10 g has portions therein, designated by the reference numeral 64which are formed without folds 40 g therein. It will be understood by aperson of ordinary skill in the art that the size, extent and area ofthe portions 64 may vary according to the desired structure,performance, and manner of use of the sleeve.

Shown in FIG. 14 is a sleeve 10 h, having a pot 50 therein. The sleeve10 h is similar to any of sleeves 10-10 g described previously exceptthe folds 40 h extend various vertical distances and generally do notextend all the way to the lower end 14 h of the sleeve 10 h. FIG. 15shows a sleeve 10 i which is similar to sleeve 10 h except sleeve 10 ihas a detachable upper portion 30 i. FIG. 16 shows a cross-section ofsleeve 10 i showing the pleated construction of folds 40 i and theportion 64 of the sleeve 10 i lacking a fold 40 i.

Shown in FIG. 17 is a sleeve 10 j which is similar to sleeve 10 g exceptthe folds, designated by the reference numeral 40 j, are z-shaped incross-section. Sleeve 10 k of FIG. 18 is similar to sleeve 10 h of FIG.14 except the folds, designated as folds 40 k, are z-shaped incross-section like the folds 40 j of sleeve 10 j. Sleeve 101 of FIG. 19is similar to sleeve 10 i of FIG. 15 except the folds 401 are z-shapedin cross-section. The sleeve 101 is shown in cross-section in FIG. 20.

Shown in FIG. 21 is a sleeve 10 m which is similar to sleeve 10 g exceptthe folds, designated by the reference numeral 40 m, are fluted, oraccordion-shaped in cross-section. Sleeve 10 n of FIG. 22 is similar tosleeve 10 h of FIG. 14 except the folds, designated as folds 40 n, arefluted, or accordion-shaped in cross-section like the folds 40 m ofsleeve 10 m. Sleeve 10 p is similar to sleeve 10 i of FIG. 15 except thefolds 40 p are fluted, or accordion-shaped in cross-section. Sleeve 10 pis shown in cross-section in FIG. 24.

The protective “upper sleeve portion” and the “base portion” of thesleeve and components of the present invention may comprise a unitaryconstruction, as described in the versions of the invention exemplifiedin FIGS. 1-24, or may comprise separately formed components which areattached together by various bonding materials, as described for examplein U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,979 mentioned supra.

In an alternative version of the invention (not shown), a bondingmaterial may be disposed on the outer peripheral surface 56 of the pot50 while the sleeve 10-10 p is free of a bonding material (except forthe bonding material used to form the connected portion of the folds).In this case, when the pot 50 is disposed into the open sleeve 10-10 p,the bonding material on the outer peripheral surface 56 of the pot 50engages a portion of the inner peripheral surface 24 of the sleeve 10-10p causing the sleeve 10-10 p to be bondingly connected to a portion ofthe outer peripheral surface 56 of the pot 50.

In yet another version of the method of the present invention (notshown), a bonding material may be disposed on both the outer peripheralsurface 56 of the pot 50 and the inner peripheral surface 24 of thesleeve 10-10 p. In such a case, preferably the bonding material both ofthe pot 50 and the sleeve 10-10 p is a cohesive which allows bonding toa surface covered with the cohesive but not to dissimilar surfaces .

As shown in FIGS. 1-24, the skirt portion 38 preferably comprises aplurality of “petals”. It will be understood, however, that the designof the skirt portion 38 is not meant to be limited to a “petal” designand may be constructed in any number of other decorative patterns,several being shown in FIGS. 25A-25F. For example, FIG. 25A shows asleeve 10 q having a skirt portion 38 q having a crenate or scallopedpattern. FIG. 25B shows sleeve 10 r having a skirt portion 38 r having acrenate or scalloped pattern which is inverted. FIG. 25C shows a sleeve10 s having a skirt portion 38 s having a crenulate toothed or zig-zagpattern. FIG. 25D shows a sleeve 10 t having a skirt portion 38 t havinga crenelated or rectangular-shaped pattern. FIG. 25E shows a sleeve 10 uhaving a skirt portion 38 u having a diagonal pattern slanted upwardlyfrom one side of the sleeve 10 u to the other. FIG. 25F shows a sleeve10 v having a skirt portion 38 v having a curved or wavy pattern. One ofordinary skill in the art will understand these are but a few of thepatterns that the perforations may form and one of ordinary skill couldcontemplate many other suitable patterns.

The sleeves described herein may be formed by intermittently advancingtwo separate webs, one or two webs preformed in the form of a tube, or asingle web folded double and sealing the longitudinal sides and bottomof the two facing panels then cutting the sleeve thus formed from thewebs or web. Machines which can form sleeves from such single webs orpairs of webs are well within the knowledge of one of ordinary skill inthe art.

It should also be noted that for all versions of sleeves described, itmay be desirable to have a release material or cover strip covering theadhesive or cohesive bonding material disposed on any portion of thesleeve for preventing the bonding material from bonding to anothersurface until the desired time. Further in each of the cases describedherein wherein a sleeve is applied to a pot or a covered pot, the sleevemay be applied thereto either by depositing the pot or covered potdownwardly into the open retaining space of the sleeve, or the sleevemay be brought upwardly about the pot or covered pot from below the potor a covered pot.

It should be further noted that various features of the versions of thepresent invention such as closure bonding areas, support extensions,handles, additional perforations, drainage holes, ventilation holes,combinations of material may be used alone or in combination as elementsof any of the embodiments described above herein.

Changes may be made in the construction and the operation of the variouscomponents, elements and assemblies described herein or in the steps orthe sequence of steps of the methods described herein without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A preformed sleeve for covering a pot having an upper end, a lower end, and an outer peripheral surface, the preformed sleeve initially having a flattened state, comprising: a base portion having an upper end, a lower end, an outer peripheral surface, and an interior space when opened; a skirt portion extending from the upper end of the base portion; a plurality of folds in the base portion and in the skirt portion when the preformed sleeve is in the flattened state; and a constriction element preattached to a portion of the base portion forming a constricted area in the plurality of folds in an upper portion of the base portion below the skirt portion wherein the constriction element is substantially immobile thereon.
 2. The preformed sleeve of claim 1 further comprising an upper portion extending from the skirt portion and detachable therefrom.
 3. The preformed sleeve of claim 1 wherein the base portion is further defined as being sized to substantially cover the outer peripheral surface of the pot.
 4. The preformed sleeve of claim 1 further defined as constructed from a material having a thickness in a range of from about 0.1 mil to about 30 mils.
 5. The preformed sleeve of claim 1 further defined as constructed from a material having a thickness in a range of from about 0.5 mil to about 10 mils.
 6. The preformed sleeve of claim 1 further defined as constructed from a material having a thickness in a range of from about 1 mil to about 5 mils.
 7. The preformed sleeve of claim 1 further defined as constructed from a material selected from the group consisting of treated or untreated paper, metal foil, polymer film, non-polymer film, cardboard, fiber, cloth, burlap, and laminations or combinations thereof.
 8. The preformed sleeve of claim 1 wherein the plurality of folds further comprises a plurality of pleats, a plurality of folds each having a z-shaped cross section, or a plurality of accordion-type folds.
 9. The preformed sleeve of claim 2 further comprising an extended portion of the upper portion for serving as a handle or support device.
 10. The preformed sleeve of claim 1 wherein the base portion has a drainage element therein.
 11. The preformed sleeve of claim 1 wherein the folds are continuous between the base portion and the skirt portion.
 12. A preformed sleeve for covering a pot having an upper end, a lower end, and an outer peripheral surface, the preformed sleeve initially having a flattened state, comprising: a base portion having an upper end, a lower end, an outer peripheral surface, and an interior space when opened; a skirt portion extending from the upper end of the base portion; a detachable upper portion extending beyond the skirt portion; a plurality of folds in the base portion and in the skirt portion when the preformed sleeve is in the flattened state; and a constriction element preattached to a portion of the base portion forming a constricted area in the plurality of folds in an upper portion of the base portion below the skirt portion wherein the constriction element is substantially immobile thereon.
 13. The preformed sleeve of claim 12 wherein the base portion is further defined as being sized to substantially cover the outer peripheral surface of the pot.
 14. The preformed sleeve of claim 12 further defined as constructed from a material having a thickness in a range of from about 0.1 mil to about 30 mils.
 15. The preformed sleeve of claim 12 further defined as constructed from a material selected from the group consisting of treated or untreated paper, metal foil, polymer film, non-polymer film, cardboard, fiber, cloth, burlap, and laminations or combinations thereof.
 16. The preformed sleeve of claim 12 wherein the plurality of folds further comprises a plurality of pleats, a plurality of folds each having a z-shaped cross section, or a plurality of accordion-type folds.
 17. The preformed sleeve of claim 12 further comprising an extended portion of the detachable upper portion for serving as a handle or support device.
 18. The preformed sleeve of claim 12 wherein the base portion has a drainage element therein.
 19. The preformed sleeve of claim 12 wherein the folds are continuous between the base portion and the skirt portion. 